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The Eastern Echo Friday, Sept. 20, 2024 | Print Archive
The Eastern Echo

Opinions

The Eastern Echo

Gentrification’s effect on low-income individuals

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Gentrification is the process of restoring run-down urban areas usually accompanied by the influx of middle-class or affluent people that results in the displacement of low-income residents. This is an issue plaguing New York City and San Francisco in different, varying degrees.


The Eastern Echo

How we talk about mental illness needs to change

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When I was growing up, it did not take me long to learn that common mental health problems such as depression and anxiety disorders were not exactly taken seriously by most of the adults in my life. I have a history of anxiety and depression going back to my early teen years.



The Eastern Echo

Michigan needs to save surplus

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Good news, finally. The State of Michigan is projected to have a budget surplus, between $971.1 million and $1.3 billion in fiscal year 2014. Followed by this news has been an appropriate question: “What do we do with this money?”

The Eastern Echo

Verizon threatens ‘net neutrality’

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The D.C Circuit Court of Appeals recently ruled in Verizon v. FCC that the Federal Communications Commission lacks the legal justification to impose the Open Internet rules, better known as net neutrality, on Internet Service Providers. This could be a crushing blow to net neutrality and Internet freedom.


The Eastern Echo

‘Selfishness’ not generational

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It’s a new year, but I doubt the journalistic trend of pontificating on the personality flaws of Millennials is going to stop anytime soon. I would argue that this trend of thinking that the young people are wayward and self-involved dates back to approximately every generation that has ever existed, but let’s focus on the “Me Generation.”


The Eastern Echo

Snow days, all grown up

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Rewind your life about 10 years. Remember what school in January was like as a middle-schooler? Anxiously listening to the radio for school closings was probably up there on your top-10 list of exciting activities. Remember running over to the speaker every five minutes to see if your district was added to the bill of winners?



The Eastern Echo

Relationships have value

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Sometimes it’s overwhelming to think of all the things there are to do: complete undergrad, go on to grad school, start a successful career, spend time with family and friends, eat well, find the time to work out (Work out? No one has time for that!) and a million other things on the list.



The Eastern Echo

Causes of distrust in society must be addressed

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Looking to the year ahead, wouldn’t it be great if we could take significant strides toward economic sustainability, peace and real justice for the people of our world? But corporate use of government to pleasure the privileged prevents us from exercising world leadership in humanity’s quest for a better life for everyone.


The Eastern Echo

Poor understanding of poverty leads to poor policy

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Since the Great Recession, the blame for current misfortunes has been shifted from those who caused it to those who now suffer from it. It has become acceptable to have antipathy for the poor – it has become acceptable to make the worst kind of assumptions about people who are less fortunate.


The Eastern Echo

LGBT allies need to show it in their everyday behavior

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I am conflicted about something that is often seen as an unquestionably positive boon for social movements – it bothers me when people refer to themselves as allies to the LGBT community. This qualm also applies to when people label themselves as allies to other marginalized groups of people, but I’m only going to speak from my own experience here as a person who identifies as transgender and bisexual.


The Eastern Echo

Young people fall into 'Busy Trap', get stressed

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As students and bonafide busybodies, we can stress out very easily. Yet the simple fact that we continually take part in activities that bring us physical and mental strain is outright mind-boggling. For some, it’s not a choice; they have to stay busy to provide for themselves, provide for others, or stay on top of schoolwork.


The Eastern Echo

'Affluenza' not an excuse

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It is hard to live in America and not notice that there is a great disparity between the rich and poor. According to the 2012 edition of the State of Working America from the Economic Policy Institute, household income, adjusted for inflation, has grown 12 times more for the top 1 percent than for the middle 20 percent, and 24 times more than the bottom 20 percent.


The Eastern Echo

'Fair Sentencing Act' not all that fair

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In Aug. 2010, President Obama signed the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. While its name is misleading, it does help begin to reduce the disparities created out of the “War on Drugs.”


The Eastern Echo

There's no wrong way to make decisions in life, love

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Those dang kids keep getting married younger and younger, I say. Actually, not really – according to the Pew Research Center, the average marrying age is 26.9 and 29.8, for women and men respectively. But “23 Things to do Instead of Getting Engaged Before You’re 23,” an article that has recently exploded across social media, would have you think otherwise.


The Eastern Echo

Editor explores idea of sustainability

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“Sustainability means being able to balance the budget, providing basic services for public safety, transportation, and business development, and encouraging development of the local resources that are special to the community,” said Paul Schreiber, mayor of Ypsilanti. “In Ypsilanti’s case, this is historic architecture, Eastern Michigan University and the proximity to Ann Arbor.”



The Eastern Echo

Christmas' 'spirit of giving' evolves with age

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When I was little, around this time of year, my elementary school’s music room would be overtaken by jolly volunteers and crammed full of cheap stocking stuffers as part of the annual Santa’s Workshop fundraiser. It was this school-wide event where kids came in and bought presents for their parents and other loved ones. I loved poring over all the little knickknacks and baubles, carefully picking out the things I really wanted, and then, in the last couple minutes or so, grabbing some stuff for Mom and Dad.

Introducing The Eastern Echo’s newest event and news based podcast, Scoop on the Scene. These weekly episodes will be hosted by the organization’s Digital Editor, Julez DeShetler. She intends to bring awareness to the events happening on an around campus to Echo listeners. 

DeShetler’s goal with the podcast is to encourage students and community members to get involved in an educated, safe and fun manner. She will list various events to choose from in addition to sharing the key details of said events. 

These podcasts can be expected to come out near the weekends and be no longer than 10-15 minutes.

For the week of Sept. 14 to Sept. 20, DeShetler includes events such as sports, a pub crawl, yoga, a movie in the park, Study Abroad Fair and training sessions. 

Be sure to tune in weekly to stay up to date on all the Eastern Michigan and Ypsilanti amusement!

Listen to this week’s episode here: